Deal reached to end deadly Brazil riot in which inmates were beheaded

A screen grab from Globo News television showing inmates holding a hostage (right) on the roof of the penitentiary in Cascavel, Parana state, Brazil, on August 25, 2014. Inmates rioting for better facilities in a Brazilian jail killed four fellow prisoners, decapitating two of them, and took two guards hostage before reaching a deal with authorities on Monday. -- PHOTO: AFP

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP) - Brazilian authorities reached a deal with rioting prisoners on Monday who killed four fellow inmates, beheading two of them, and held two guards hostage.

Elson Faxina, a spokesman for the Parana state attorney's office, said an agreement was signed to end the uprising at the Cascavel city correctional facility and that prisoners were currently being transferred to another jail.

"After that, the two guards who were held hostage will be freed," Faxina said, adding that police still had to enter the jail to assess the damage and determine if there are more victims.

Some 800 inmates - or 80 per cent of those being held at the facility - took part in the revolt, he said.